Campaign 2012

Real Clear Politics: Energy 'Independence' After All

April 2, 2012

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Robert J. Samuelson asks if energy independence is possible, and what it would look like politically.

Call it Richard Nixon's revenge.

Amid election-year furor over high gasoline prices, something significant has happened to America's energy outlook. We are steadily reducing our dependence on imported oil -- a long-ago Nixon goal. In 1973, he proposed being free of imports by 1980. It didn't happen, and although politicians of both parties frequently echoed Nixon's popular call for "energy independence," most experts considered it a joke.

Production from mature U.S. fields was declining, while Americans' energy thirst increased. Oil imports went from 35 percent of use in 1973 to 60 percent in 2005. As for natural gas, companies prepared to import LNG (liquefied natural gas).

No more. The LNG isn't needed; the United States is approaching self-sufficiency in gas. And in 2011, oil imports fell to 45 percent of consumption, the sixth year of decline. Behind these developments lies a new reality: America's oil and gas reserves are far larger than previously thought.

The real issue -- for the election and victor -- is how aggressively we exploit these reserves. President Obama is right about today's gasoline prices. They're set in world markets subject to upsets (for example, erratic production from Libya and Sudan) over which we have little control. But the longer term is different. By encouraging production, we can enhance our energy security and help stabilize global markets -- and prices -- through greater supply.

India now matters to U.S. interests in virtually every dimension. This Independent Task Force report assesses the current situation in India and the U.S.-India relationship, and suggests a new model for partnership with a rising India.

Rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries are increasing faster than in wealthier countries. The report outlines a plan for collective action on this growing epidemic.